Ricciardo: Q3 remains tough for Red Bull

Daniel Ricciardo is satisfied with his 6th position on the grid for the Canadian GP in Montreal after missing a good part of the second practice session last Friday following an engine problem. The Australian ranked one tenth behind his teammate Max Verstappen with whom he will start on the third line.

“It went relatively well compared to the day before, admits Daniel Ricciardo. We were only able to do two flying laps without problems yesterday and we started from scratch this Saturday. I have driven on this circuit many times, but it is not like in Barcelona (Spain) where you are directly in the game. This trail is rather difficult. Despite everything, I managed to qualify well, even if the Mercedes and Ferrari increased the pace in Q3. I would have liked to win another tenth, but it’s already a nice recovery. »

Daniel Ricciardo is also frustrated to see the Power Unit Renault struggling on this track against the 6l turbo/hybrid V1.6s from Mercedes and Ferrari.

“I can’t control this., regrets Daniel Ricciardo. We would love to have what Mercedes has in Q3, but we are used to being in this position, there is nothing new. We're still trying to find things on the chassis. We brought a lot of new things to the car this weekend and they seem to be working, but qualifying is never easy when you're so far behind in Q3. We remain hopeful with the balance of the car which should keep the rear tires well. We should do a two-stop race and maybe even just one. »

Daniel Ricciardo, however, remains taken aback by the performance of Lewis Hamilton who beat his teammate by more than half a second Valtteri Bottas by setting the new lap record.

“I don’t really know if it was a Mercedes or Lewis performance because Valtteri was nowhere against him, comments Daniel Ricciardo. I would say Lewis likes this layout. He has often won there (5 times) and you can often win by just a tenth in this case. He put in an excellent lap, but I'm not sure they can run at this speed in the race and I think they'll have to reduce the pace a little. They also seem less comfortable than last year with the tires. It won't be so easy for them against Ferrari and we should be closer to them. »

Daniel Ricciardo occupies 5th place in the Championship with 7 points ahead of his teammate Max Verstappen. The Australian won the Canadian GP in 2014.